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Neutron activation is the process in which neutron radiation induces radioactivity in materials, and occurs when atomic nuclei capture free neutrons, becoming heavier and entering excited states. The excited nucleus decays immediately by emitting gamma rays , or particles such as beta particles , alpha particles , fission products , and ...
Free neutrons decay by emission of an electron and an electron antineutrino to become a proton, a process known as beta decay: [2] n 0 → p + + e − + ν e. Although the p + and e − produced by neutron decay are detectable, the decay rate is too low to serve as the basis for a practical detector system.
For a typical neutron star of 1.4 solar masses (M ☉) and 12 km radius, the nuclear pasta layer in the crust can be about 100 m thick and have a mass of about 0.01 M ☉. In terms of mass, this is a significant portion of the crust of a neutron star.
The first four "odd–odd" nuclides occur in low mass nuclides, for which changing a proton to a neutron or vice versa would lead to a very lopsided proton–neutron ratio (2 1 H, 6 3 Li, 10 5 B, and 14 7 N; spins 1, 1, 3, 1). All four of these isotopes have the same number of protons and neutrons, and they all have an odd number for their ...
The values of the neutron drip line are only known for the first ten elements, hydrogen to neon. [19] For oxygen (Z = 8), the maximal number of bound neutrons is 16, rendering 24 O the heaviest particle-bound oxygen isotope. [20] For neon (Z = 10), the maximal number of bound neutrons increases to 24 in the heaviest particle-stable isotope 34 ...
The number of neutrons produced per fission is multiplicatively modified by the dominant eigenvalue. The resulting value of this eigenvalue reflects the time dependence of the neutron density in a multiplying medium. k eff < 1, subcritical: the neutron density is decreasing as time passes; k eff = 1, critical: the neutron density remains ...
Plutonium-240, in addition to being a neutron emitter after fission, is a gamma emitter, and so is responsible for a large fraction of the radiation from stored nuclear weapons. Whether out on patrol or in port, submarine crew members routinely live and work in very close proximity to nuclear weapons stored in torpedo rooms and missile tubes ...
The pits of the first nuclear weapons were solid, with an urchin neutron initiator in their center. The Gadget and Fat Man used pits made of 6.2 kg of solid hot pressed plutonium-gallium alloy (at 400 °C and 200 MPa in steel dies – 750 °F and 29,000 psi) half-spheres of 9.2 cm (3.6 in) diameter, with a 2.5 cm (1 in) internal cavity for the initiator.